Nail handling apparatus



June 14, 1955 J, H. FRIEDMAN 2,710,712

NAIL HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 13, 1951 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 JNVENTOR. JOHN H FQ/EDMA/V BY f' x 4)422;

ATTOR/VKYJ June 14, 1955 J. H. FRIEDMAN 2,710,712

' NAIL HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 13, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR. Joy/v H. F/P/aoMA/v BY WM 8 Ju ATTOR/VE Y5 NAIL HANDLING APPARATUS John H. Friedman, Tiffin, Ohio, assignor to The National Machinery Company, Tifiin, Ohio, in corporation of Ohio Application February 13, 1951, Serial No. 210,736

2 Claims. (Cl. 226-2) ing and pointing of the nails, adhere to the finished 4 article as it is discharged from the nail making machine, and the removal of such materials prior to packaging the nails for shipment adds to the cost of the finished product. Ordinarily, the nails are collected at the nail making machine in boxes or hoppers and the nails are thereafter tumbled and washed so that the nails are piled one upon the other in a random fashion so that the bulk is increased, and the problem of packaging and using the nails is greater than would exist were the nails arranged parallel to each other. relates to an apparatus which will eifectively separate the chips, whiskers, lubricant and washing fluid from the nails, and which will pack cleaned nails in a carton with their axes parallel so as to minimize the space required for the nails in a shipping container. The orderly arrangement of the nails in the shipping container facilitates the use of the nails and their removal from the container.

It is among the objects of my invention to provide an apparatus for cleaning and packing nails wherein a quantity of nails characterized by random orientation are placed on an oscillating table and are progressively advanced therealong and discharged therefrom into a container with the nails being disposed parallel to each other in the container.

It is a further object of my invention to provide an apparatus according to the preceding object, wherein the oscillating table is perforated so that the foreign material adhering to the nails is separated from the nails by the motion of the table, and disposes of said foreign materials through said perforations with the result that clean nails coaxially parallel are discharged into the container.

t is a further object of my invention to provide a nail packing device, wherein vertically disposed plates spaced from each other less than the length of the nails to be handled, guides the nails in a parallel fashion as they fall by gravity into a packing container.

It is a further object of my invention to provide an apparatus according to the preceding object, wherein certain of the vertically disposed plates have an oscillatory movement so as to facilitate the parallel positioning of the nails in the container.

Further objects and advantages relating to simplicity in construction, adjustability, and efliciency in operation will appear from the following description and the appended drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is a perspective view of the nail cleaning and packaging apparatus made according to my invention;

Fig. 2 is an elevation with parts in section of the apparatus of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the plane 33 of The present invention nited States Patent 1 from a nail washing apparatus.

ice

Fig. 2 showing the eccentric drive for oscillating the nail table in the apparatus of my invention; i

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the plane 44 of Fig. 2 showing the discharge arrangement for foreign materials separated from the nails; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing a plurality of vertically disposed plates employed for guiding the nails into a container. Y

Referring to the drawings, the apparatus comprises a rigid bed frame 5 secured to an upright pedestal 6 and an oscillating nail table indicated in its entirety as at 7. One end of the nail table 7 is provided with a guard 8 which extends upwardly around the receiving end of the. nail table and which may be disposed beneath a chuteleading The nail table 7 'is pivoted at the receiving end as at 9 to a supporting frame lit, and the forward end of the nail table is adjustably secured as by link 11 to a supporting frame 12; The lower ends of the supporting frames 10 and 12 are pivoted as at 13 and 14 to the bed frame 5. An oscillating platform 1.5 connects the upper ends of the pivoted supporting frames 10 and 12 so that the platform 15 and the nail table 7 may oscillate as a unit, with respect to the bed frame 5. To effect the oscillation of the nail table a depending bracket 16 carried by the platform 15, is connected as at 17 to connecting rod 18 which is drive by a rotating eccentric 19.

The discharge end of the nail table is characterized by a smooth inclined paltform 20, and it will be noted that the major portion of the nail table is inclined with respect to the horizontal toward the receiving end of the table and that the discharge end of the table is inclined downwardly toward the container 21, arranged to receive the nails discharged by the table. That portion of the nail table which is inclined rearwardly (or to the left in Fig. 2) is provided with a perforated top panel 22, and said top panel is spaced wtih respect to the bottom of the table 7 so as to provide a channel or trough therebeneath for carrying the washing liquid and foreign material forwardly toward the highest point of the incline as at 23, where the liquid and chips are discharged from the table 7 through transverse chute 24.

The motion imparted to the nail table 7 may be varied in several respects, depending upon the size and shape of J the nails being handled, and the amount of foreign ma terial adhering to the nails when they are placed onthe oscillating table. The amplitude of the table oscillation may be varied by adjustment of the eccentric 19with respect to the eccentric shaft 38. The frequency of the oscillation may be varied by the change in speed of the output shaft 38 of the speed change device 37. The fixed angle of the table 7 with respect to the platform 15 may be adjusted by means of slotted bracket 11 at the forward end of the table 7. Since the pivoted supporting frames 10 and 12 are dispoesd with respect to the bed frame at about 45, the horizontal and vertical components of the table motion are approximately equal, so that the nails are thrown upwardly and towards the discharge end of the table when the member 16, driven by the eccentric is moved to the right as viewed in Fig. 2.

It will be understood that when the table moves from its left hand position as shown in Fig. 2 to a right hand position, that is to the other end of its oscillating stroke, that the force of gravity effects an increase in the static friction between the nails and the table so that the nails tend to be carried toward the discharge end of the table. When however, the table moves in the opposite direction, that is, moves toward the left hand position shown in Fig. 2, the table is dropping downwardly away from the nails so that the static friction between the nails and the table is decreased, and consequently the nails do not return with the table the full length of the return stroke.

Accordingly, it will be appreciated that in practicing the instant invention, the oscillating table should oscillate in a. path having vertical and horizontal components so that the nails may be progressed along the table toward the discharge end. The vertical component of the table motion is also utilized in driving the washing liquid and metal chips downwardly through the apertures in the perforated top panel. The tension spring 25 eliminates the lost motion in the mounting and insures smooth operation. The oscillating motion imparted to the guide plates such as 7a and 7b is utilized within the container 21 to firmly pack the nails in the container. As the containcr platform 30 is lowered by the added weight of nails in the container the lower edges of the plates such as 7a and 7b continue to be effective on the nails being packed.

Beneath the discharge end of the nail table a pedestal 29 supports a spring mounted platform 30 for the nail container 21. The post 31 secured to the under side of the platform 30 is provided with a shoulder 32 which rests against one end of a spring 33 housed within the pedestal 29. The resistance afforded by the spring 33 is such that its axial extent is reduced progressively as nails are added to the container 21 so that when the container 21 is fully loaded with nails the top edge of the container will be approximately in the same horizontal plane as the lower edge of the guide plates ar ranged in the container.

The guide plate assembly comprises a plurality of plates such as 7a, 7b and 7c, which are secured to the discharge end of the nail table 7, and thus are oscillated through the same path as the nail table. Between each of the guide plates secured to the nail table there are mounted a series of guide plates such as 5a and 5b which are afiixed to the bed frame member 34-, and thus remain aflixed in space while the guide plates carried by the oscillating table are moved with respect to them. Preferably the guide plates are mounted so that the rear edges thereof are nearer to each other than the forward edges. I have also found that the packing of the nails may be facilitated by increasing the spacing between the guide plates at the lower edges thereof, as compared to the spacing at the upper edges of the plates. In any event, the guide plate spacing at the upper edges is considerably less than the axial extent of the nails being handled so that any nails which may fall onto the guide plates are turned so as to be parallel to the guide plates before it drops into the container 21. It will be understood from the foregoing that reciprocating guide plates engage any nails disposed transversely of the plates and i;-

move the nail so that it will drop between the guide plates and will come to rest in the container parallel to the other nails therein.

The oscillating drive for the nail table and discharge guide plates may be conveniently effected by a motor 35 which through belt 36 drives a variable speed mechanism 37. The output shaft 38 of the variable speed mechanism projects beneath the nail table and is provided thereat with the eccentric 19. it will be understood that different speeds of the output shaft, and different angular l 5 adjustments of the nail table 7 may be made to effectively handle different types and sizes of nails. It will also be understood that the tension in the spring 25 may be adjusted as at 26 to particularly facilitate the handling of a certain type or size of nail.

Although I have described one form of my invention in considerable detail, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that numerous modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A nail handling apparatus comprising a horizontal bed frame, a pair of spaced parallel inclined supporting it) the platform with the discharge area thereof higher than the receiving area thereof, said trough projecting beyond the platform at the discharge end to provide an oppositely sloping passageway, a perforated sheet disposed in said trough and spaced above the bottom thereof to i.) provide a waste discharge passageway beneath the perforated sheet, a transversely disposed waste discharge chute carried beneath said nail handling trough beneath said perforated sheet adjacent the discharge end of the trough, a plurality of vertically disposed spaced parallel plates fixed to the trough at the end of said passageway and plurality of vertically disposed parallel plates alternately arranged with respect to the first-named plates carried by said bed frame and reciprocating means for said parallel frames and platform efiecting advance of the nails in parallel relation along said perforated sheet to the discharge end of the trough and at the same time recip rocating said parallel plates while waste material falling through the perforations in the sheet is advanced to said transverse discharge chute.

C1? 2. A nail handling apparatus comprising a horizontally disposed bed frame, a pair of parallel spaced inclined supporting frames pivoted to said bed frame, a platform pivotally connecting the upper ends of said supporting frames, a rotating eccentric drive means operatively coniJ nected to said platform, an elongated nail handling trough carried by said platform, said trough having the major portion thereof sloping downwardly from the discharge end to the receiving end of the trough and the minor portion thereof sloping oppositely beyond the end of the 3 platform, a perforated sheet spaced from the bottom of.

the trough and proportioned to cover said major portion thereof, said sheet being spaced from the bottom of the trough to provide a passageway for waste material dropping through the perforations from the nails being hang} dled, a transverse dischage chute formed the trough beneath said perforated sheet near the junction of said two oppositely sloping portions, a plurality of spaced parallel fiat sheets fixed to the end of the trough and depending vertically therefrom, a plurality of parallel flat sheets fixed to the end of the bed frame alternately arranged with respect to the first-named sheets whereby nails advanced along the trough to said flat sheets are directed vertically downward between the sheets into a nail receptacle and at the same time waste material is advanced beneath J i the perforated sheet in the trough to said discharge chute.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 549,699 Abcle Nov. 12, 1895 555,262. Phillips Feb. 25, 1896 1,111,217 Cole Sept. 22, 1914 1,163,107 Phifer Dec. 7, 1915 1,231,960 Stiles July 3, 1917 1,234,447 Cole July 24, 1917 11 1,234,447 Francisco Mar. 31, 1931 2,186,652 Orth Jan. 9, 1940 2,333,576 Kerr Nov. 2, 1943 2,386,579 Wheeler Oct. 9, 1945 2,591,086 McLauchlan Apr. 1, 1952 1; 2,601,411 McLauchlan lune 24, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 33,367 Netherlands Aug. 15, 1934 

